All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S05E04.Avalanche.Ghost.Train.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-SLAG_track3_[eng]

[Phil] Look how steep that is.

[Jess] Careful. Oh, my gosh.

[Josh] Phil and Jess
head to the wilds
of the Pacific Northwest.

To investigate
a paranormal hotspot.

[Bert] I heard
a disembodied voice
of a woman humming.

[Josh] At the site
of horrific train tragedy.

[Phil] Can you imagine,
you're sitting there
in a crowded car,

-and then this crushing
force on top of it.
-[Jess] Yeah.

This is essentially,
you know, a graveyard.

[man] I personally think
that there were
a lot more people killed.

-So, you're saying
there's a bit of a cover up?
-Yes.

[Josh] The truth behind
this haunting disaster
was kept hidden until now.

So, you got this footage,
right on top
of the accident site?

Yeah. I saw
the head right there.

[Josh] We uncover
the buried secrets of...

[Jess] Is that you?

Did you just hear whistling?

[Josh]
...the Avalanche Ghost Train.

[Josh] My name is Josh Gates.

In my travels,
I've experienced strange
things that defy logic,

and made me
question everything.

Oh, my God.

[Josh] Now,
I've put together a team

to investigate the
stranger side of the unknown.

Let's go.

[Josh] Phil Torres is
a scientist who hunts for
rational explanations.

Jessica Chobot's
paranormal research,
has made her a true believer.

If you're here with us,
knock again.

[Josh] Together,
we're searching for answers.

[Phil] What is
happening here, Jess?

[Josh] To the world's most
extraordinary mysteries.

This isExpedition X.

All right. Jess, Phil,

when was the last time
the two of you
took a trip by train?

I took a lovely trip on a
bullet train a few years back
in Japan.

Yeah, I took a sleeper car
across Europe
a few summers back.

Nothing like falling asleep
to the rumble of a train.

Both those sound lovely.

Now, imagine
it's the dead of winter

and a blizzard rolls in.

Your train gets stuck.

Snow is piling up
past the windows

and you are trapped for days.

Food is running low.
There is no heat,

no power,
and then it gets worse.

No Wi-Fi.

That does sound like
your nightmare, Jess.

-It does.
-This is a real nightmare.

This is actually a true story.

And it goes down as
one of the deadliest
train disasters

in American history.

And some say,
that even now a century later,
the ghosts of that tragedy,

still haunt the mountains
of the Pacific Northwest.

[Josh] February 22nd, 1910.

Winding through
the Cascade mountains,

the Great Northern Railway,
passenger train number 25,

is on an east-west journey
from Spokane to Seattle.

Aboard are 55 passengers.

From commuting businessmen
to vacationing families.

They expect an uneventful
overnight journey.

But fate makes
the tiny town of Wellington
their final stop.

Snow begins falling
at up to a foot per hour.

Burying the tracks under
20-foot-high drifts.

Snow ploughs fail
and the train can't move.

Days pass
and anxious passengers

are running low
on food and coal

to heat the train cars.

A few trek nearly
four miles through
stormy weather

and deep snow drifts
to the next outpost.

But most have to stay put
on the stranded train,

unable to make
the treacherous hike.

Six days after
the train stalled,
the snow turns to rain.

Everyone celebrates
believing that soon,
they'll be on their way again.

But Mother Nature
has other plans.

On March 1st around30 a.m.,
lightning flashes.

Thunder cracks.

Suddenly a slab of ice,
more than a quarter-mile wide
roars down the mountain side,

turning rocks and trees
into high speed projectiles

that slam
into the helpless train,

hurling it
more than a 150 feet
into the ravine below.

It's a mangled heap of metal,
ice, splintered trees
and human bodies.

Rescue crews managed
to pull 23 people to safety.

But the rest are dead.

The final body isn't recovered
until the end of July.

The official death toll is 96.

The Wellington disaster,
remains the deadliest
avalanche in US history.

Now, over a century later,

hikers are reporting
paranormal activity
around the accident site.

People claim
to hear ghostly voices,

laugher, strange humming
and singing,

and an eerie unsettling
feeling that overtakes them.

One man captured on camera
what appears
to be an apparition.

Reports of unexplained
phenomena around
the abandoned tracks

have escalated over
the past few months.

So, the time
to investigate is now,

before snow
covers the evidence again.

So what do you think?

So much trauma, and death
concentrated in one location,

I think it's gotta be haunted.

I really wanna talk to the guy
that caught that ghostly image
on camera.

Phil, what do you
make of the video?

[Phil] There are some
plausible explanations
for what he caught on tape.

It could be
atmospheric conditions.
It could be an animal.

It could be
a trick of the light.

Yeah, but the witness also
said that he heard voices
at the disaster site

and other people have
reported that too.

So, this video's not
an isolated incident.

But it's also a windy place.

Wind can make strange sounds.
And so can wildlife.

So, the two of you have got
to get up there
and check this out.

You're gonna be the first team
on TV to ever
investigate the wreck

and the paranormal claims
surrounding it.

-That's kind of awesome.
-All right.
Get ready to see a ghost.

Well, it sounds like
the two of you are all aboard.

[groaning]

I'm sorry.

Just gonna let that one
wash over me.

Please do.

[Josh] Phil and Jess,
fly 2200 miles
from New York

to Spokane, Washington.

From there,
it's a four hour drive west
into the Cascade mountains.

[Jess] Gorgeous.

This is one of my favorite
patches in wilderness
in all the US.

-I come here
every single spring.
-Mm-hmm.

And yet I've never heard
this story about the train.

-[Jess] Look at
this [bleep].
-[Phil] Oof!

So, this is logging?

[Phil] All of these
downed trees,
this is not logging.

This is wreckage
from an avalanche.

What? Whoa!

-[Jess] Whoa!
-[Phil] Are you kidding me?

-[Phil] Look at that!
-[Jess] I mean,
this is recent.

[Phil] Oh, my God!

Wow!

[Phil] Oof!

-[Phil] That's incredible.
-[Jess] There's snow.

Ooh! That is just packed.

[laughs]

-Not cool, Jess.
-Oh, come on.

Have some fun.

I mean, that is like
concrete though.

You would never survive
getting hit by
something like that.

Yeah. If you think about
all the snow pack
that happens here.

And they say
in this area of Washington,
they can get up to 25 feet.

-Yeah.
-All gets compressed,
turns into this giant ice cube

just rushing down.
Look at what it did.

Look how thick that tree is.

[Phil] Avalanches occur
when wind,
rain or human activity

causes a layer of snow
to suddenly fracture and
detach from a mountain slope,

sending thousands of tons
of snow, hurtling down

at speeds of up to
200 miles per hour.

Anyone below,
like those trapped
on the Great Northern Train,

would have only seconds
to try to escape.

[Jess] Man, you can see,
like, the trees,

how they're flattened
and bent like that.

-[Phil] Yeah.
-Man!

[Josh] Jess and Phil
continue to Skykomish

which would have been
one of the next stops

on the train's
ill-fated journey.

There, I've arranged for them
to meet someone

who has a very
personal connection
to the tragedy.

Sheila Hagar
is a local reporter.

And a descendant
of one of
the avalanche victims.

What kind of
sparked your desire
to find out more about

your great grandmother's
involvement
in the Wellington Avalanche?

I just typed
my grandfather's name
into Google.

And I come across
this little tidbit about
Sarah Jane Covington.

And I'm just stunned.

[Jess] 69-year-old
Sarah Covington

was in Spokane
caring for her sick son

and was travelling alone
back to Seattle
when the avalanche hit.

She never made it home
to celebrate
her 51st wedding anniversary.

So nobody in the family
ever talked about this?

Not to me.

Not many people at all
knew that this 1910 avalanche
had occurred.

When I wrote about it
people had no idea.

I think the railroad company
did their very best

to make sure it was forgotten.

For them,
this was a terrible PR...

-Mm-hmm.
-...issue.

If people were afraid
to go on that train

they weren't
going to have customers.

Josh had mentioned
that you'd actually
come across some of your

great-great grandmother's
writing from when
she was on the train.

Yes.

I don't know whether it was
on her body
when they found it.

Or possibly in her luggage.

What was going on
inside that train?

Let me show you.

[Sheila] She's not
very worried when the train
actually gets snowbound.

[Sarah]
"February 27th, 1910.

My dear husband and children,

I, with 100 or so,
are snowbound here."

She does talk about
how one young man

was able to play music.

He had a horn.
But that people
were very blue.

[Sarah] "Quite a number
play cards and drink,

talk slang
and any old thing.

We have no water
and very little fuel.

I am trusting in God
to save us.

Some are in deadly fear
that a landslide
will come down on us."

Can we get a copy
of some of these documents?

-You guys can take
all of this and pursue.
-[Jess] Awesome. Thank you.

All of this!
What else do we have in here?

[Jess] Victims list.
This is very helpful.

-This is a great place
to start.
-Yeah.

[Jess] Now that we have
more information about
who was on the train,

we need to investigate
the actual site
of the disaster.

It's a half-hour drive east
to where the accident happened
and the old train route.

Then it's a hike
up to the site.

I'm curious to connect with
whatever spirits
may be lingering here.

Josh has arranged for us
to meet Bert Coates.

A graphic designer,
he has lived in the area
for 40 years

and spends most
of his weekends hiking
and camping in the mountains.

One night
around the disaster site,

he captured and eerie figure
on camera.

So you had an experience
around here.

I did.

-I hiked up here...
-[Jess] Mm-hmm.

[Bert] ...and I had heard
a disembodied voice of a woman
that just started humming.

And then she started singing.

-[Jess] Really?
-[Bert] But you couldn't
really make out the words

of what she was singing.

-Did you recognize
the song at all?
-No, not at all.

Did you know
the history of this place
before coming here?

Not until after
I went back home.

After the hike
I started looking
at the history of Wellington.

So, essentially, you had
your first experience here.

-Yeah.
-And it sounds like
you kept coming back...

-Oh, yeah.
-...at night to try

-to figure out
what was happening?
-Yep.

-So, the video, can you
show us what happened?
-Absolutely.

[Phil] All right.

[Jess] Bert takes us
down the trail
to the snow shed.

A massive half mile long
concrete structure

built after the avalanche
to shield the tracks
from future disasters.

[Phil] I definitely recognize
these pillars from your video.

[Bert] Yeah.

I'd hiked to the snow shed.
We started having problems
with the camera.

The batteries
just started draining,

so I stepped off to the side
with the camera

and I wasn't paying attention
to what I was filming
when I captured the image.

And so then you were recording
down in this direction?

Yep. I was recording
right at that angle.

Which pillar would it be?

I saw the head right there.

-So, here, right?
-Yes.

Okay.

[Phil] There are a lot
of deer tracks over here.

[Bert] There are.

But even I will quickly admit
that looked nothing
like a deer.

[Jess] That looked like
a person's head and shoulders.

[Jess] I think Bert
captured a lost soul
from the train disaster.

This area is where
the trains would have been.

[Bert] Yes.

[Phil] I think
what he caught on camera
was a glimpse of an animal.

And what he's heard,
including the humming
and singing,

might simply be
the sounds of birds

echoing through the snow shed.

So you got this footage
essentially right on top
of the accident site.

Pretty much, yeah.

The debris field's
down this direction over here.

[Jess] Ooh, okay.

-[Phil] Right down there.
So it's over this ledge.
-[Bert] Right.

-What else is down there?
-The Tye River.

And then you'll see
a bunch of debris.

Well, Jess, I think we should
try to get down to
the debris field...

-Yeah.
-... and do that
before it gets dark.

-Yeah. Thanks.
-[Bert] Good luck.

-See ya.
-See ya later.

[Phil] We're going to have to
get to the crash site
the same way the train went,

all the way down this cliff.

-Oh, that is steep!
-Do you have your gear?

-I've got my gear.
-Yeah.

So, what, rope off
to one of these trees?

[Jess] Rope off to a tree
and let's shimmy down.

-[Jess] You first?
-Yeah.

Okay.

All right.
I can see we're getting close.

You think that's gonna...
That's not enough line.

We'll see how far we can go.

-Get ready.
-Yeah.

[Phil] Whoa!

Oh! Are you all right?

-I'm good.
-Are you okay?

Yeah. I'm good.

Careful, careful.
We've got a rockslide here.

Look at this!

[Phil] Oh, my God!

[Phil] Careful, careful.
We've got a rockslide here.

Look at this!

Oh, my God!

Solid steel.
Completely collapsed in.

It got smashed.
The rivets all popped out.

Can you imagine?
You're sitting there
in a crowded car.

-Mm-hmm.
-Desperate for days.

-And then this crushing force
on top of it.
-Yeah.

It took them months
to find all the bodies here.

Months!
Because of the conditions.

Let's just keep that in mind
while we're exploring.

Let's remember that
a lot of people
passed away here.

I mean, this is essentially,
you know, a graveyard.

Okay.

[Phil] Lots of debris
over here.

The roots of this tree
are growing right through,

right over this big piece
of iron metal right here.

It's just amazing to think
that this forest has basically
been growing back

over the top of this wreckage
for over 100 years.

[Jess] All right,
let me just take a picture.

[Jess] As I'm standing
on top of the wreckage

where 96 people
lost their lives,

I'm suddenly struck with
a heavy, uneasy feeling.

There's probably
a lot of train underneath
where we can't even see it.

I mean, it's a miracle
that they found Sarah's diary

in this debris field.

[Jess] Some believe spirits
will remain in the spot
where their life ended,

so the words from Sarah's
journal and letters

may help me reach out
to her or the other
avalanche victims.

I'm gonna use Sarah's letters

to do a bit of a bit
of a call and response
with this recorder.

It's voice activated
so it will record
if anybody answers.

-Okay. Are you recording?
-Yeah, I'm recording.

Sarah, if you're with us,
feel free to reach out
and speak with us.

"February 23rd,
we're snowed in
at the mouth of the tunnel,

twenty minutes of00 a.m.

I just got up from my bed.

The mountains are beautiful,
and we are all resting easy.

They say it we may be
here all day.

The cars are warm
and very nice."

Let's review it.

[recorder] February 23rd.
We are snowed in
at the mou... tunnel.

Twenty minutes of eleven...

Just got up from my bed...
The mountain... beautiful
and we are all resting...

We may be here all day.

Okay, this is really weird.

Why is it skipping?

It's supposed to run
when it hears
somebody talking.

So why was it continuously
getting interrupted?

Well, two options here.
One, it's sucks at its job.

Or two, there's
some kind of interference.

There's definitely
a heavy vibe in the area.

What I've been struck with is
we've been to so many
tragic places.

I've never been
to a place like this.
Like, it just is depressing.

-Really heavy.
-Yeah.

I think it's the tech,
but also, Jess, we're just
getting started here.

Who knows
what we're gonna find?

[Jess] With the daylight
fading fast,

we make the tough climb
back uphill to the snow shed.

Once it's dark, we'll be able
to better investigate
Bert's video.

Phil thinks it may
have been an animal.

But I think Bert may
have captured an image

of a lost spirit
from the train disaster.

-What if we set up the camera
to just record this area?
-Okay.

[Jess] We aim a camera
towards the pillar,
and I set up a REM pod

which will alert us to any
electromagnetic disturbances
from a paranormal presence.

[Jess] Okay, REM pod's up.

All right, so I'm going to
stay here and do
a little call and response.

That's your territory, I know.
I'm gonna try and set up some
trail cams round here

to get an idea
of what wildlife
do pass through this corridor.

I think animals might be
the real source

of the sights and sounds
people are reporting.

-Okay, good luck out here.
-Thanks, you too.

Right here, guys.
I think I've found
the route up.

[Phil] I'm going to inspect
the rest of the snow shed
top to bottom

looking for signs of wildlife.

Watch your step here.
We've definitely got to
tread lightly around here

because this
is old concrete structure.

We definitely saw parts of it
that had caved in
when we were down below.

And we've got this ledge.
If you fall off,
that's a good 30-foot drop.

So we'll be careful.

[Jess] Since our other device
was giving us problems,

I'm going to switch
to our 360 recorder,

an ultrasensitive mic
that will pick up sounds
from all directions.

Record.

If anyone responds,
we'll capture it.

So the plan is that
I'm gonna go ahead
and set this

so that we can
do a calm response.

I have Sarah's letters,

I have the list of, uh,

victims of the avalanche.

All right. We're good to go.

Is there anyone here
in the tunnel with us?

What happened on the night
of the avalanche?

Sarah, were you disappointed
that you weren't able
to send off

your final letters
to your family?

[Phil] All right.

I've seen very little evidence
of any animal activity.

So, I'm gonna head back down,
set a game cam right
in the pathway

where Bert reported
some unusual activity.

Is there anybody here with us?

Sarah, just so you know,
those letters did make it
to your

great-great-granddaughter,
Sheila.

[EMF beeping]

Are you standing over
by the pillar?

[faint whistling]

What the [bleep]?

Was that a whistle?

[cameraman speaking]

I'm loving this spot
right here

because there are footprints
all over the place.

Which means this gets
a lot of wildlife traffic,

which means I'm gonna set up
my trail cam right here.

[Jess] Hello?
Is there anyone here?

[faint whistling]

[shushes] Was that you?

Did you just hear whistling?

[cameraman speaking]

[Jess] Is there anyone here?

[faint whistling]

[shushes] Was that you?

Did you just hear whistling?

[cameraman speaking]

Hey, Phil?
Were you guys just whistling?

I heard that too.

What was that?

[Phil] A logical explanation
might some kind of bird.

Several species like
chickadees or swallows
do live here

and have shrill chirps.

[chirps]

[chirping]

But the sound we heard was
a single sustained note.

Not a warbling bird song.

And most songbirds
aren't nocturnal.

So we'll see what
our trail cams captured.

[Jess] I heard like someone
with a whistle

right next to my ear.

[Phil] That is really weird.

Definitely sounded like
it came from your direction.

Let's meet back up.

Let's figure out where
we are with this thing.

[Jess] Copy.

[Phil] The whistling sound
could also be a mixture
of something entirely natural

and something man made.

In 2020, people noticed high
pitched howling noises
across San Francisco.

An investigation determined
the sound was wind blowing

through the slats of a newly
retrofitted sidewalk railing

of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It's possible that wind
blowing through these pillars

might also create
some odd sounds.

I've got something in my kit
that I can use to put
this idea to the test.

-[whispering] Smoke bomb.
-That's cool!

We'll be able to see
where the wind goes,

if it weaves around some
of these pillars.

That kind of helps us
visualize what the
sound could be doing too

to get distorted through here.

-Are you ready for this, Jess?
Okay.
-Yeah.

It's barely going past
these pillars.

[Jess] Mm-hmm.

[Phil] So it's really just
a straight shot down.

I was hoping to see some
gusts coming through.

Some vortices.

[whispers] Absolutely nothing.

[Jess] I mean, it doesn't
seem breezy enough to make
any whistling noises.

[Phil] Wind didn't cause the
whistling sound
we heard tonight.

So what did?

[Jess] That whistle
was definitely a response
from someone.

One thing that's certain,

this place
is really unsettling,

even Phil seems to feel it.

-We have a camera
that's gonna pick up...
-Game cam.

...whatever walks around here.

-Mm-hmm.
-So, I say we call it a night

-because this place is creepy.
I wanna get out of here.
-It's creepy.

But why?
It's just animals, Phil.

Don't worry about it.

[Phil] Jess, some of those
animals could
be a mountain lion.

-That would suck, yes.
-You know?

[Phil] I've been thinking
about possible explanations

for what's going on
around here

and I wanna run a theory
past Josh.

[Josh] Hey, you two.

-Hey, Josh!
-Josh!

[Josh] I'm eager to hear
how it's going out there.

Jess, were you able to make
contact with the spirits
of the train passengers?

[Jess] I'm not sure yet.

I reached out and I got some
strange responses.

A whistle.

What like a train whistle
or like a person whistling?

[Jess] More like a whistle
you'd blow.

Listen to this.

[faint whistling]

So did train conductors
carry whistles?

You know that actually does
sound kind of like those
old time conductor whistles.

Right? The ones that they
would wear around their necks.

[blows whistle]

And there were something like
60 crew members
who died in that disaster.

[Jess] I feel like I need
to learn more about the crew.

Phil, you thought the wind
could have been
making the noises

that people were hearing
out there.

And what do you think now?
Could that have been what
caused the whistling?

[Phil] Well, there was
no wind that night,

so I don't know
what made that whistle.

I think we should analyze it

against the sounds of any
known animals
when we get back.

[Jess] The other odd thing
is that we all felt kind
of just off.

Like a little nauseous
and very uncomfortable.

And we read that about
this place, right?

That some of the witnesses
have noted feeling this unease
and sense of dread there.

Well, Wellington's not at a
high enough elevation

for something like
altitude sickness.

[Phil] I felt that before.
This was something else.

Pretty much everybody
last night felt weird.

Experienced strange feelings.

Yes we were at a place
where a lot of people died

but I'm also wondering
if there's something
else going on here

and that would be a sound
that we can't actually hear.

What do you mean
a sound we can't hear?

You mean like, infrasound
or something?

Exactly.

So that's
an interesting idea, right?

I mean there are these
frequencies that we can't
actually hear with our ears

but scientists do suspect that
they can impact how we feel.

They can make people
feel uneasy or scared.

It's even been suggested that
those sort of frequencies

could be what makes
a place seem haunted.

Okay, well, if that's
the case, then, where would
the infrasound even come from?

I guess that's the question.

It's known to come
from seismic activity,

it can come from traffic,

there's a lot of different
sources out there,

but I do wonder
if it's railroad connected.

-[train horn blowing]
-Oh, you hear that
train right now?

[Jess] I do.

[Phil] Josh, I'm not sure
you can if hear right now,

but there is a train going by
somewhere in the distance.

Still an active railroad area

which actually could lead into
the infrasound theory

that maybe could
be a train passing by.

That's a cool theory, Phil.
I would love
to have you test it out.

And, Jess, if you think the
site is potentially haunted

not just by passengers
but maybe by the crew,

I have located someone who you
absolutely have to meet.

I found this railway historian
who has extensively researched
this incident

and the people involved.

[Jess] Great,
send us the info,
we'll go meet him.

-[Josh] Great.
-Sweet.

-Awesome. Bye, Josh.
-We'll meet up with him.

[Josh] See you later.

I'm sending Phil and Jess
to meet Kevin Weiderstrom.

A retired Boeing mechanic,

he now maintains the historic
Skykomish Depot.

He's had a lifelong
fascination with the story of
the Wellington train disaster.

He thinks there's more to the
story than anyone has heard.

They tried to keep
the death toll down.

I personally think that there
were a lot more people killed.

-So you're saying there
is a bit of a cover up?
-Yes.

-So you're saying there
is a bit of a cover up?
-Yes.

-More people than 96 died?
-Yes, probably up to 150.

Lot of the other people were
transient workers, they work
couple of days and leave.

So there's been nothing
officially documenting
saying they were there?

No. Not at all.

-Wow.
-They tried to keep
the death toll down

because people get scared.

It was a psychological thing

as well as a thing
for the railroad to keep
in business.

[Jess] How were they able
to get all of the bodies
out of there?

Well, it took weeks,
they were taking the bodies,

they put them on toboggans
and went down all the way
to Windy Point.

Down the dead man's slide
by rope.

It's 800 to 1,000 feet down
the side of the mountain,

and right down here at Scenic,
that's where they went.

-Obviously the old train
route's no longer in use.
-Right.

But there's still a train
that goes through here,

-I mean we saw train tracks
right outside.
-Sure. Right.

So does it pass by this area?

It is below it,
about a 1,000 feet below it.

[Jess] Considering
the strange whistle
we heard last night,

I wonder about the conductor
on the doomed train.

Could the sound be his signal
from the other side?

So, I wanna know
about the conductor.
What's his story?

Pettit.

[Phil] Kevin tells us that
Joseph Pettit

was one of the handful
of people who left the train

and hiked nearly
four miles to safety.

But with passengers stranded
on his train,

the conductor
didn't just walk away.

[Kevin] He was trying
to get help.

But he made his way back
to the train

and unfortunately he was
killed in the avalanche.

But that's beyond
just doing your duty,

-I mean he climbed a mountain
for these people...
-Right.

...and then died
in the avalanche.

-Died in the avalanche.
-That is tragic.

-So bad.
-Yeah.

[Jess] Armed with new
information about where
and who to investigate,

we head back to the site
of the disaster,

the snow shed.

[Phil] I think infrasound
waves coming from trains
on the new set of tracks

could be causing
strange sensations

that people might mistake
for paranormal activity

at the avalanche site.

-So check this thing out.
-Yeah, what is that?

-This is a special microphone.
-Oh.

That can hear super
high frequency

and super low frequencies.

-Anything 20 and above,
we can hear.
-Uh-huh. Got it.

But once it gets too low,
that becomes infrasound

-and that's really
what I'm interested in.
-I see. Okay, gotcha.

Lot of animals
can hear infrasound

and communicate
through infrasound.

-But we can't hear it.
-Uh-huh.

But the theory is, and it's
even been proven in a lab,

that it can make people
feel weird,

certain frequencies
can vibrate your eyeballs

and make you almost
see things.

-That's kind of cool
-I know.

-So we've got
this one set here.
-Uh-huh.

What I need to test is if when
a train goes by at Windy point

is that sound strong enough
to essentially pass through
a mountain and hit here.

So if we get a really
big spike

this thing is connected
to my phone

and it will send me a message.

So potentially what happens
over there

could be correlated with what
happens over here.

-We've got ourselves
a long hike ahead.
-Oh, yes we do!

[Jess] These were conductor
Pettit's last steps

and the route used by rescuers
to recover dozens of bodies.

[Phil] Wow!

I'm getting tired.

[Jess] I'm getting
tired too.

[Phil] This is a long way
walk in not through
overhead height snow.

-[Jess] Yeah.
-And not carrying
a body behind you.

And not worrying about
an avalanche falling
on top of you.

[Phil] Yeah.

-You feel that cold air?
-[Jess] Yeah. Ooh!

-Man, all the way from here
you can feel that.
-[Phil] Wow.

[Jess] Oh, how cool is this?

-Look at this thing!
-[Phil] Ooh, that...

-That's a huge tunnel!
-[Phil] ...is a huge tunnel.

Look at the size
of this thing.

-Wow.
-[Jess] All right.

I mean that gets super dark,
you wanna bust
out the flashlights?

At the far end of this,

that's where
the dead man's slide is,

where both the survivors went

-and where all the dead bodies
went down.
-Exactly.

So, I think while
we have some daylight,

we should try to book
it to the far end.

-This is uh, spooky.
-[Jess] This is creepy.

[Jess] Spooky.

[Phil] Oh, we've got a cave
in up here.

[Jess] Yeah.

So really the only thing
protecting us

are old wooden beams
from the original tunnel.

-That's comforting.
Excellent.
-That's something. Yeah.

-Great. Cool.
Let's keep walking.
-[Phil] Perfect.

[Jess] This tunnel
is a quarter mile long
and pitch black.

There is a definite chill
in the air

and I'm not convinced
it's just the temperature.

[Phil] This thing is quite
the piece of engineering.

[Jess] Oh, yeah.
Kind of scary.

Which means right down here

-this should
be dead man's slide.
-Oh, dead man's slide?

[both panting]

[Phil] This is insane.

[Jess] So this is it?

[Phil] This is it.

-Look how steep that is.
-[Jess] Let me see.

Careful!

Oh, my gosh!

Phil, I am uncomfortable
with you doing that.

-Oh, yeah that is so steep!
-[Phil] Wow.

-Look how far down this goes.
-Imagine trying
to transport bodies

in the winter down this.

This is about, what?
A 1,000 foot elevation drop?

And imagine
the conductor, Pettit.

-He was stuck back there
in a blizzard.
-[Jess] Yeah.

Would have to get here,
get all the way
down the mountain,

ask for help,

climb all the way back up

and then miles back to the
train only to be killed
in an avalanche.

-Yep. That's rough.
-That is some heroic effort
with a tragic ending.

Yeah, that is rough.

All right, let's just set up
for the investigation.

All right, yeah.
The sooner we get going
the better.

[Jess] Mm-hmm.

All right, Jess, somewhere
down in that valley
is a modern train.

-Yeah.
-So, I'm gonna go

down the trail on the
outside of the tunnel

and see if I can get a good
eye line on it.

Okay, I'm gonna go back
inside the tunnel,

I wanna try and track
for any paranormal activity

and see if it matches up
with you're finding,

on your end
because if it does,

then maybe your theory
is correct and if it doesn't,

then maybe my theory
is correct
and it might be haunted.

-I'll take that wager.
-All right.

-So you got your walkie
on you?
-Sure do.

Look at that.

Right there. Wow.

Active train track way closer
than I thought it would be

and there's the tunnel.

This is right next to the old
track just 1,000 feet below.

Okay. This is gonna be good.

[Jess] I head back towards
the entrance of the tunnel

and set up for a call
and response session.

All right, this seems
to be a good spot.

I'm going to reach out
to conductor Pettit

or any of the other lost souls
whose bodies were transported
through here.

All right.

[machine humming]

Is there anybody here with us?

Were you one of the passengers

on the train that was hit by
the avalanche in 1910?

Conductor Pettit,
can you hear me?

[Phil] All I have to do here
is wait for a train.

I'm expecting that seconds
after a train rumbles through

we'll get a notification
from the meter back
at the avalanche site.

Saying that it's picking up
infrasound.

[Jess] Did you work
for the railroad?

Are you angry that the
railroad company tried
to cover up so many deaths?

[machine beeping]

Joseph Pettit, is that you?

Oh, [bleep]!

Ah, [bleep]!

That was weird.

[Josh] The 1910 Wellington
avalanche

compelled researchers
to figure out ways to prevent
future disasters.

One method
is to set up snow fences,

which can help control
accumulation on the slopes.

Another way? Explosives.

[explosion]

Intentionally using
detonations to fracture
the snow pack

and trigger controlled slides,

reducing the risks
of unpredictable ones.

That's done either by shooting
the mountain side
with live artillery rounds.

[explosion]

Or dropping charges
from a helicopter.

Or even having
a very brave ski patrol

place explosives by hand.

[explosion]

Which I have to admit looks
like a total blast.

Oh, [bleep]!

Ah, [bleep]!

That was weird.

The bizarre nauseated feeling
we had at the crash site
is back.

Phil, do you copy?

[Phil] Yeah, what's up?

[Jess] I had that queasy
feeling again.

It was so weird.

I actually had
to take the headphones off.

Are you getting any readings
on your meter just now?

Do you see any trains
coming through?

[Phil] Stand by.

[train horn blaring]

Okay, you see that light?
Right there. Right there.
There's the train.

Hear that rumble?

We got a hit!

[Phil] Jess! Jess!
You there?

Yeah, copy.

Jess, we just got
the first hit

from the infrasound meter
miles away at the avalanche
crash site.

I'm gonna come your way

because I got the results
I was looking for,

so I wanna see what was
happening on your end.

Okay. I'll pack up
and meet you.

All right. Coming in.
Coming in.

Wow, we got a major,
like huge spike

on the infrasound back
at the avalanche site.

You combine with the
tragic history,

I think there's a chance
that some of the paranormal
experiences

they could be explained...

-Mm-hmm.
-...by that combination.

[Jess] The REM pod went
off in the tunnel right before
the train arrived.

But that device doesn't react
to infrasound.

Maybe the train is acting
as some sort of trigger

for the ghosts of the
avalanche victims, you know?

I heard whistling next
to my ear

when we were over
at the actual crash site.

-Mm-hmm.
-That wasn't infrasound.

The mind can play a lot
of tricks on you

when you wanna hear
what you wanna hear.

I'd be interested in
analyzing the audio
that you got...

-Yeah.
-...just to see if we can pick
it apart better

and figure what
that actual noise was.

[Josh] When Phil and Jess
returned from Washington,

we isolated the whistle
sound from our footage.

[whistling]

We compared
it to the vocalizations

of birds and mammals known
to live in the region.

[chirping]

The whistle sound doesn't
match up with any of them.

Our cameras did capture
various animals around
the snow shed.

But none of them
seemed consistent
with the ghostly figure

caught on video.

We analyzed the audio
of Jess's call and response
at the snow shed

and at the tunnel.

[Jess] Is there anyone here
in the tunnel with us?

[Josh] And there were a few
strange sounds.

But no singing, humming
or anything we could identify
as a voice.

And there's no easy answer
for what happened
with Jess's recorder

as she read aloud the words
of an avalanche victim.

[Jess or recorder]
Mountain... beautiful
and we're all...

[Jess] Okay,
this is really weird.

[Josh] We had the device
checked out

and it is in perfect
working order.

So, can we conclude whether
lost souls from the Wellington
train disaster

still haunt
that mountainside?

A reaction to infrasound

is a rational explanation

for some of the alleged
paranormal experiences
reported.

But as Jess points out,

it can't explain everything
that witnesses have heard

and seen.

In light of such
a terrible tragedy

perhaps there is some comfort
in believing that the spirit
of Conductor Pettit

is still looking out
for his passengers

that remain stranded.

[whistle blows]

Perhaps he's making sure
their lives and their loss

will not be forgotten
and buried by time.

For more information
on Expedition X

head to
discovery.com/expeditionx.